Been following him in the amateurs for sometime and he recently turned pro and looks absolutely deadly. A more compact and mobile Beterbiev. Here he is literally steamrolling his Korean opponent in his third pro fight. This content is protected Here is a ridiculous KO he had during the Tokyo olympics. This content is protected
Definitely a savage. But he looked like he almost gassed himself there. Should be a very fun career to follow.
It's too early to claim such a thing (well, you didn't claim it; you asked the question). A "knockout legend" like Artur Beterbiev is made by knocking out a quality boxer like Oleksandr Gvozdyk. It is too early to expect that from Imam Khataev, but he certainly deserves attention.
He has many things to work on, but the potential is clear. Hopefully he adapts to the pro game well and doesn't suffer the same fate as Bektemir who had a similar style.
He was windmillimg his punches, leaving himself open and overextending. That is nothing like Beterbiev, who is compact and throws short deadly punches.
@Snails hes a beast and far better than the bums you usually talk about - Being Russian/Chechen is the difference
He's undoubtedly a beast but needs to add more layers to his offence. In my opinion fighters from this region are very well schooled (Soviet system) and they also take strength and conditioning extremely seriously unlike western/UK based fighters. Not to mention that PED usage is rampant .
I watched him in the amateurs and I had the same thought myself given, like Beterbiev, he's a massive punching, physically strong Chechen LHW. But I don't see him being as good as Beterbiev.
